Vergne leads young drivers

Red Bull's Jean-Eric Vergne topped the timesheets on day one of the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Red Bull youngster sets the pace on day one in Abu Dhabi

Red Bull's Jean-Eric Vergne topped the timesheets on day one of Formula One's Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. Teams are using the three-day session at the Yas Marina Circuit, which staged the emirate's grand prix on Sunday, not only to evaluate F1 stars of the future but also test components for next season as well as Pirelli's 2012 tyres. Vergne, who completed 83 laps, posted a fastest lap of one minute 40.011 seconds - a time which would have put him eighth on the grid for Sunday's race - in the championship-winning RB7. The 21-year-old Frenchman's time was over ninth tenths of a second quicker than that of the day's second-fastest driver, Ferrari's own French youngster Jules Bianchi. "That was a fantastic day for me. Driving the world championship-winning car is just great and I liked every lap I did out there," Vergne said. "Knowing there are two more days still to do, just makes me smile more. It's a great opportunity from Red Bull Racing; I'm trying to learn as much as possible and get as much as possible out of it." Canada's Robert Wickens, who beat Vergne to this year's Formula Renault 3.5 championship, was third fastest for Renault, albeit more than two seconds off his pace. Switzerland's Fabio Leimer, who made his F1 debut for Sauber, and McLaren tester Gary Paffett completed the top five. Max Chilton was sixth quickest for Force India, putting in 81 laps despite KERS problems to finish ahead of Finland's Valtteri Bottas (Williams) and Oliver Turvey (McLaren). Meanwhile, Mercedes' Sam Bird managed 53 laps and finished with a best time of 1:43.548 for ninth spot ahead of Venezuelan Rodolfo Gonzalez (Lotus). "We did some good work today as the team began on-track preparations for the 2012 season," Bird said. "It's fantastic to be behind the wheel of a Formula One car again, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself out there. I'm looking forward to the next two days and making a contribution to the team's work for 2012." Times
01. Jean-Eric Vergne Red Bull 1:40.011
02. Jules Bianchi Ferrari 1:40.960
03. Robert Wickens Renault 1:42.217
04. Fabio Leimer Sauber 1:42.331
05. Gary Paffett McLaren 1:42.912
06. Max Chilton Force India 1:43.016
07. Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:43.118
08. Oliver Turvey McLaren 1:43.502
09. Sam Bird Mercedes GP 1:43.548
10. Rodolfo Gonzalez Lotus 1:44.022
11. Stefano Coletti Toro Rosso 1:45.278
12. Dani Clos HRT 1:45.329
13. Charles Pic Virgin 1:46.930
14. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Virgin 1:47.292